Ergonomic Risk, Occupational Fatigue and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of a Public Transport Company in Quito, Ecuador

Abstract

Background. Urban public-transport drivers are simultaneously exposed to static postural load, whole-body vibration and extended shifts, factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and occupational fatigue. In Quito, Ecuador, the topographic conditions and long working hours add specific demands that have been scarcely studied.
Objective. To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and their association with ergonomic risk factors and occupational fatigue among drivers of a public transport company in Quito, Ecuador.
Methods. Analytical cross-sectional study of the entire active driver population (census, n = 30) of a cooperative operating an urban route in southern Quito. A sociodemographic/occupational form, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, the REBA and RULA postural assessment methods and the Yoshitake Fatigue Symptoms Questionnaire were applied. Prevalences were estimated with Wilson 95% confidence intervals, correlations with Spearman's rho and group comparisons with the Mann–Whitney U test. A predefined family of 80 exploratory tests was adjusted by the Benjamini–Hochberg procedure (FDR < 0.05).
Results. All drivers (100%; 95% CI 88.6–100) reported symptoms in at least one body region in the previous 12 months and 70.0% (52.1–83.3) in the previous 7 days. The most affected regions were upper/lower back and elbow/forearm (80.0% each), shoulder (76.7%) and neck (73.3%). RULA placed all 30 drivers at action level 3; REBA classified 80.0% at medium risk and 20.0% at high risk. The mean Yoshitake score was 13.00 ± 5.88. No significant association was found between RULA/REBA scores and fatigue, nor between total fatigue and the number of symptomatic regions. After adjustment, age and driving experience were positively associated with the number of symptomatic regions, and perceived vibration intensity was positively associated with total fatigue (ρ = 0.526; q = 0.033).
Conclusions. The drivers assessed show a very high musculoskeletal burden and postural exposure requiring intervention, together with subjective fatigue symptoms. Age, driving experience and perceived vibration emerged as key associated variables. The results provide a baseline for surveillance of health in this occupational group